The effects of ammonium chloride and bicarbonate on the activity of glutaminase in isolated liver mitochondria

Catabolism of amino acids in livers from cafeteria-fed rats

Most studies using a hypercaloric diet to induce obesity have focused on the metabolism of fat and carbohydrates. Less concern has been given to the metabolism of amino acids, despite evidence of modifications in nitrogen metabolism during obesity. The aim of this study was to evaluate amino acid metabolism in livers from cafeteria diet-induced obese rats. Blood parameters were analysed, and histological sections of livers were stained with Sudan III. The enzymatic activities of some enzymes were determined in liver homogenates. Gluconeogenesis, ureagenesis, and oxygen consumption were evaluated in rat livers perfused with glutamine, alanine, or ammonium chloride. Compared to control rats, cafeteria-fed rats demonstrated higher levels of triacylglycerol and glucose in the blood and greater accumulation of fat in livers. Gluconeogenesis and urea production in livers perfused with glutamine and alanine at higher concentrations showed a substantial reduction in cafeteria-fed rats. However, no significant difference was observed among groups perfused with ammonium chloride. The activities of the enzymes alanine aminotransferase, glutaminase, and aspartate aminotransferase in the livers were reduced in cafeteria-fed rats. Taken together, these data are consistent with the hypothesis that livers from cafeteria diet-induced obese rats exhibit a limitation in their maximal capacity to metabolise glutamine and alanine to glucose, ammonia, and urea, not because of an impairment in gluconeogenesis and/or ureagenesis, but rather due to a depression in the activities of enzymes that catalyse the initial steps of amino acid metabolism.

The activity of phosphate-dependent glutaminase from the rat small intestine is modulated by ADP and is dependent on integrity of mitochondria

The effect of adenine nucleotides and phosphate on rat small intestine phosphate-dependent glutaminase (PDG) activity was investigated in intact mitochondria. Disruption of the integrity of mitochondria by sonication or freeze-thawing resulted in loss of enzyme activity. ADP was the strongest adenine nucleotide activator of the enzyme giving a V(max) that was over 5-fold of that for AMP or ATP. The sigmoid activation curve of PDG by ADP became hyperbolic in presence ATP. ADP also lowered the K(m) for glutamine and increased V(max) and these effects were further enhanced by the presence of ATP. Activation of PDG by phosphate and ADP was not completely additive suggesting some antagonism between the activators. There was no clear relationship between changing ATP/ADP ratios and PDG activity in presence of a constant concentration of phosphate. However, ratios of approximately 1:4 and 4:1 gave the highest and lowest activities, respectively. The pH dependence of PDG activity was affected by phosphate concentration and results suggest that the divalent ion is the activating species.

Hormonal control of renal and systemic glutamine metabolism

Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the human body. Recent studies indicate that it may be an important vehicle for interorgan nitrogen and carbon transport. However, relatively little is known about hormonal factors regulating its metabolism in humans. We review here our recent work on the effects of insulin, glucagon and epinephrine on plasma glutamine kinetics and its conversion to glucose by liver and kidney.

Role of glutamine in human carbohydrate metabolism in kidney and other tissues

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body and is involved in more metabolic processes than any other amino acid. Until recently, the understanding of many aspects of glutamine metabolism was based on animal and in vitro data. However, recent studies using isotopic and balance techniques have greatly advanced the understanding of glutamine metabolism in humans and its role in glucose metabolism in the kidney and other tissues. There is now evidence that in postabsorptive humans, glutamine is an important glucose precursor and makes a significant contribution to the addition of new carbon to the glucose carbon pool. The importance of alanine for gluconeogenesis, viewed in terms of the addition of new carbons, is less than previously assumed. It appears that glutamine is predominantly a renal gluconeogenic substrate, whereas alanine gluconeogenesis is essentially confined to the liver. As shown recently, renal gluconeogenesis contributes 20 to 25% to whole-body glucose production. Moreover, glutamine has been shown not only to stimulate net muscle glycogen storage but also to stimulate gluconeogenesis in normal humans. Finally, in humans with type II diabetes, conversion of glutamine to glucose is increased (more so than that of alanine). The available evidence on the hormonal regulation of glutamine gluconeogenesis in kidney and liver and its alterations under pathological conditions are discussed.

Human kidney and liver gluconeogenesis: evidence for organ substrate selectivity

To assess the contribution of the human kidney to gluconeogenesis (GN) and its role in conversion of glutamine and alanine to glucose, we used a combination of isotopic and organ balance techniques in nine normal postabsorptive volunteers and measured both overall and renal incorporation of these precursors into glucose before and after infusion of epinephrine. In the postabsorptive basal state, renal incorporation of glutamine (27 +/- 2 mumol/min) and alanine (2.1 +/- 0.5 mumol/min) into glucose accounted for 72.8 +/- 3.3 and 3.9 +/- 0.5% of their overall incorporation into glucose (37 +/- 2 and 51 +/- 6 mumol/min, respectively) and 19.0 +/- 3.5 and 1.4 +/- 0.2%, respectively, of overall renal glucose release. Infusion of epinephrine, which increased systemic and renal glucose release more than twofold (P < 0.001), increased overall glutamine and alanine incorporation into glucose (both P < 0.001) and increased renal GN from glutamine (P < 0.001) but not from alanine (P = 0.15). Renal glutamine GN now accounted for 90.3 +/- 4.0% of overall glutamine GN (P = 0.01 vs. basal), whereas renal alanine GN still accounted for only 4.8 +/- 1.7% of overall alanine GN (P = 0.36 vs. basal). With the assumption that kidney and liver are the only gluconeogenic organs in humans, these results indicate that glutamine GN occurs primarily in kidney, whereas alanine GN occurs almost exclusively in liver. Isotopic studies of glutamine and alanine incorporation into plasma glucose may provide a selective, noninvasive method to assess hepatic and renal GN.

Hepatic glutamine transport and metabolism

Although the liver was long known to play a major role in the uptake, synthesis, and disposition of glutamine, metabolite balance studies across the whole liver yielded apparently contradictory findings suggesting that little or no net turnover of glutamine occurred in this organ. Efforts to understand the unique regulatory properties of hepatic glutaminase culminated in the conceptual reformulation of the pathway for glutamine synthesis and turnover, especially as regards the role of sub-acinar distribution of glutamine synthetase and glutaminase. This chapter describes these processes as well as the role of glutamine in hepatocellular hydration, a process that is the consequence of cumulative, osmotically active uptake of glutamine into cells. This topic is also examined in terms of the effects of cell swelling on the selective stimulation or inhibition of other far-ranging cellular processes. The pathophysiology of the intercellular glutamine cycle in cirrhosis is also considered.

Effect of HCO3- on glutamine and glucose metabolism in lymphocytes

Lymphocytes play a quantitatively important role in glutamine utilization in the body. We hypothesized that in metabolic acidosis characterized by decreased extracellular HCO3- concentration ([HCO3-]), glutamine utilization by lymphocytes may decrease to compensate partially for the increased uptake of glutamine by the kidneys for ammoniagenesis. This study was therefore designed to quantify the effect of extracellular [HCO3-] on glutamine metabolism in lymphocytes relative to glucose utilization. Mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes were incubated at 37 degrees C for 1 hour in Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing 0, 12.5, and 25 mmol/L HCO3- at a constant pH of 7.4 or 15.7 and 25 mmol/L HCO3- at a constant CO2 concentration of 1.25 mmol/L. Reducing extracellular [HCO3-] from 25 to 12.5 mmol/L at constant pH or from 25 to 15.7 mmol/L at constant CO2 concentration decreased glutamine utilization and the production of glutamate and ammonia. A reduction in [HCO3-] from 12.5 to 0 mmol/L further decreased glutamine utilization, as well as the production of all measured glutamine metabolites. Interestingly, decreasing [HCO3-] from 25 to 0 mmol/L had no significant effect on glucose metabolism, although the production of pyruvate (a minor product of glucose in lymphocytes) was decreased in the absence of medium HCO3-. The contribution of glutamine but not of glucose to lymphocyte adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production was decreased with reduced extracellular [HCO3-]. Thus, glucose was a more important fuel for lymphocytes than was glutamine at low [HCO3-].(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Rapid activation of hepatic glutaminase in rats fed on a single high-protein meal

We report that hepatic glutaminase is rapidly activated in rats fed on a single high-protein (60% casein) meal. Rats previously fed on a normal-protein (15% casein) diet for 3-4 days were given a high-protein meal for 2 h. The high-protein meal increased the rate of flux through glutaminase in intact liver mitochondria nearly 3-fold (20.6 +/- 1.7 nmol/min per mg of protein versus 7.5 +/- 2.9 nmol/min per mg of protein) at a P(i) concentration of 10 mM. The activation of flux through glutaminase by a high-protein meal involved an increased sensitivity of glutaminase to P(i), an activator of the enzyme. The Ka for P(i) was 1.0 mM and 24.1 mM in mitochondria from rats fed on the high-protein and normal-protein meals respectively. We measured the concentration of P(i) in the mitochondrial matrix and found that it did not differ in mitochondria from rats fed on the high-protein and normal-protein meals, suggesting that the effect of the high-protein meal on the P(i)-sensitivity of glutaminase was not due to a change in the distribution of P(i) across the mitochondrial inner membrane. Glutaminase activity was measured by using mitochondrial membranes from frozen-thawed mitochondria. Glutaminase activity and its dependence on P(i) were similar for preparations from rats fed on high-protein and normal-protein meals. These findings show that hepatic glutaminase is stimulated rapidly by a high-protein meal. This is part of the physiological hepatic response to increased protein intake which permits the liver to cope with the influx of glutamine occurring at this time.

Phosphate-dependent glutaminase of rat skeletal muscle. Some properties and possible role in glutamine metabolism

A relatively high activity (26.7 nmol/min per mg mitochondrial protein) of phosphate-dependent glutaminase (EC 3.5.1.2; L-glutamine amidohydrolase) was found in rat skeletal muscle (mixed type from hindlegs) mitochondria incubated in 200 mM potassium phosphate (pH 8.2); the activity was lower in rat heart and diaphragm mitochondria. Phosphate-dependent glutaminase was also found in human skeletal muscle mitochondria, but the activity was about 3-5 times lower than in rat skeletal muscle. Multiplying the specific activity of mitochondrial glutaminase by the amount of mitochondrial protein present in 1 g of rat skeletal muscle the maximum glutaminase activity was found to be 0.352 mumol/min per g wet tissue. The rat skeletal muscle enzyme appears to be similar in many respects to phosphate-dependent glutaminase of the kidney (e.g., S0.5 for glutamine, K0.5 for phosphate, the pH activity profile, inhibition by glutamate). These properties make the skeletal muscle enzyme very similar to the 'kidney type' glutaminase isoenzyme of rat tissues. A significant difference between rat kidney and skeletal muscle enzymes is their adaptive response during acidosis. While the kidney enzyme increases during acidosis, the skeletal muscle glutaminase activity does not. A possible role of glutaminase in the glutamine metabolism in rat skeletal muscle is discussed.

Glycine, a new regulator of glutamine metabolism in isolated rat-liver cells

Glycine (0.1-10 mM) caused a dose-dependent increase in the removal of 5 mM [1-14C]glutamine by isolated rat-liver cells; at low concentrations of glycine, an increase in the formation of 14CO2, urea and glucose from glutamine occurred. At 2-10 mM, glycine also caused an accumulation of ammonia, a well-established activator of glutaminase (E.C. 3.5.1.2) and, at concentrations found in the presence of glutamine plus glycine, ammonia stimulated glutamine removal. The inhibition of urea synthesis from glutamine observed with 10 mM glycine was relieved by the addition of ornithine, suggesting that this inhibition occurred by reducing the availability of ornithine for the ornithine transcarbamoylase reaction. The metabolism of glycine as sole substrate led to a small increase in the accumulation of ammonia. Glycine did not alter hepatic glutaminase activity but swelling of rat hepatocytes, a factor considered to stimulate glutamine metabolism, was observed in the presence of glycine (1 mM). It is concluded that stimulation by glycine of hepatic utilization of glutamine is mediated by the accumulation of ammonia arising from both glycine and glutamine metabolism and by hepatocyte osmotic swelling secondary to glycine transport.

Glutamine catabolism by heart muscle. Properties of phosphate-activated glutaminase

1. Rat heart homogenates catabolized glutamine in the presence of rotenone, an inhibitor of the respiratory chain. 2. The reaction was markedly stimulated by phosphate and inhibited by glutamate, but not greatly affected by ammonia. 3. Glutamine breakdown was enhanced by lactate, malate, citrate and ATP, and almost completely blocked by 1 mM-N-ethylmaleimide. 4. The Km for glutamine measured in homogenates supplemented with either 50 mM- or 100 mM-phosphate and at pH 7.3 or 8.0 was about 4 mM, whereas the Vmax was larger at higher anion concentrations and at the more alkaline pH. 5. Activity of glutaminase was 3-fold greater in isolated mitochondria than in muscle homogenates. Distribution of the activity was the same as that of a mitochondrial marker, cytochrome c oxidase. 6. Properties of glutaminase with respect to its dependence on the concentrations of phosphate, glutamine and H+ were the same in intact and broken mitochondria and very similar to those in homogenates. However, the specific activity of the enzyme was considerably smaller in frozen-thawed than in intact organelles. 7. It is concluded that heart mitochondria possess a kidney-type phosphate-activated glutaminase that can serve as a source of myocardial glutamate.

Variations in the kinetic response of several different phosphate-dependent glutaminase isozymes during acute metabolic acidosis

We describe the kinetic modifications to mitochondrial-membrane-bound phosphate-dependent glutaminase in various types of rat tissue brought about by acute metabolic acidosis. The activity response of phosphate-dependent glutaminase to glutamine was sigmoidal, showing positive co-operativity, the Hill coefficients always being higher than 2. The enzyme from acidotic rats showed increased activity at subsaturating concentrations of glutamine in kidney tubules, as might be expected, but not in brain, intestine or liver tissues. Nevertheless, when brain and intestine from control rats were incubated in plasma from acutely acidotic rats enzyme activity increased at 1 mM glutamine in the same way as in kidney cortex. The enzyme from liver tissue remained unaltered. S0.5 and nH values decreased significantly in kidney tubules, enterocytes and brain slices preincubated in plasma from acidotic rats. The sigmoidal curves of phosphate-dependent glutaminase shifted to the left without any significant changes in Vmax. The similar response of phosphate-dependent glutaminase to acute acidosis in the kidney, brain and intestine confirms the fact that enzymes from these tissues are kinetically identical and reaffirms the presence of an ammoniagenic factor in plasma, either produced or concentrated in the kidneys of rats with acute acidosis.

Amino acid uptake by liver of genetically obese Zucker rats

Alanine and glutamine uptake by the liver of 50-52-day-old genetically obese Zucker rats and their lean littermates has been studied. The net uptake in vivo of L-alanine is 2-fold higher in the obese animals. No significant change in L-glutamine net balance was found. We also studied the Na(+)-dependent uptake of L-alanine and L-glutamine into plasma-membrane vesicles isolated from either obese- or lean-rat livers. Vmax. values of both L-alanine and L-glutamine transport were 2-fold higher in those preparations from obese rats. No change in Km was observed. As suggested by inhibition studies, this seemed to be mediated by an enhancement of the activities of systems A, ASC and N. We conclude that the liver of the obese Zucker rat is extremely efficient in taking up neutral amino acids from the afferent blood, which results in an enhanced net uptake of L-alanine in vivo. The changes in transport activities at the plasma-membrane level might contribute to increase amino acid disposal by liver, probably for lipogenic purposes, as recently reported by Terrettaz & Jeanrenaud [Biochem. J. (1990) 270, 803-807].

Comparison of the effects of various amino acids on glycogen synthesis, lipogenesis and ketogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes

Several amino acids were found to stimulate glycogen synthesis and lipogenesis, and to inhibit ketogenesis in isolated rat hepatocytes. When hepatocytes were incubated in the presence of 20 mM-glucose, the amino acids could be classified in decreasing order of efficiency as follows: glutamine and proline, alanine, aminoisobutyric acid, asparagine and histidine for stimulation of glycogen synthesis; glutamine, proline and alanine for stimulation of lipogenesis; proline and glutamine for inhibition of ketogenesis. The study of the time course revealed that the rates were not linear and were preceded by a lag period. In all conditions studied, glutamine and proline were found to have similar quantitative effects on glycogen synthesis and lipid metabolism. However, their effects differ qualitatively. Indeed, the effects of proline on glycogen synthesis, lipogenesis and glutamate and aspartate content were faster. Moreover, proline increased the hydroxybutyrate/acetoacetate ratio, whereas glutamine did not change it. Incubation of hepatocytes with aminoisobutyric acid or under hypo-osmotic conditions, which increased cell volume and mimicked the amino acid-induced stimulation of glycogen synthesis, had little effect on lipogenesis. In hepatocytes incubated without glucose, ketogenesis was inhibited, in decreasing order of efficiency, by alanine, asparagine, glutamine and proline. Under these conditions, glutamine increased, alanine decreased and asparagine did not affect the concentration of malonyl-CoA. This indicates that the latter cannot be responsible for the inhibition of ketogenesis by alanine and asparagine.

Simultaneous synthesis and degradation of glutamine in isolated rat liver cells. Effect of vasopressin

When hepatocytes suspensions obtained from whole livers of 48-h-fasted rats were incubated in Krebs-Henseleit buffer with a near-physiological concentration (1 mM) of L-[1-14C]glutamine as substrate, the apparent removal of glutamine was low, but the release of 14CO2 was much larger than the enzymatically measured removal of glutamine. This indicates that glutamine was metabolized at rates much higher than those accounted for by the apparent removal of glutamine. This also suggests that glutamine utilization was, at least in part, masked by concomitant synthesis of glutamine from endogenous substrates via glutamine synthetase. Evidence that such synthesis occurred was obtained by: (i) addition of methionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase, which caused a large increase in the apparent removal of glutamine; and (ii) measurement of the specific radioactivity of L-[1-14C]glutamine which was shown to decrease during incubation. Addition of vasopressin (10(-7) M) led to a marked increase in glutamine removal by a dual mechanism: it accelerated flux through glutaminase, the enzyme which initiates the hepatic degradation of glutamine, and inhibited flux through glutamine synthetase.

Glutamine as a major nitrogen carrier to the liver in suckling rat pups

We measured the amino acid concentrations in the afferent and efferent vessels of the liver in anaesthetized fed adult rats and in fed suckling rat pups. A much higher content of glutamine in the portal vein and the aorta than in hepatic veins suggests that this amino acid is actively taken up by the liver of fed suckling rat pups, conversely to what is found in adult rats. In an attempt to characterize further the mechanism(s) contributing to this enhanced glutamine uptake, we monitored the time course of 1 mM-glutamine transport into plasma-membrane vesicles purified from the livers of either adult or suckling rats. The concentrative Na+-dependent uptake of glutamine was lower in those vesicles obtained from pups than in those obtained from adult rats. Glutaminase and glutamine synthetase activities in livers from both experimental groups were also measured. Glutaminase and glutamine synthetase activities in suckling rats were about 3-fold higher and 2-fold lower respectively than those in adult rats. It is concluded that glutamine is a main nitrogen carrier to the liver in fed suckling rats. A high availability of this amino acid and an enzyme imbalance between glutamine-synthesizing and -degrading activities may account for the net uptake found in vivo.

Phosphate-dependent glutaminase in the human term placental mitochondria

The properties of placental glutaminase described in this paper, namely relatively high substrate affinity. Hill coefficient about 1.6, inhibition by glutamate, and the lack of activation by bicarbonate make the placental enzyme very similar to the "kidney type" glutaminase isoenzyme of rat tissues.

Regulation of interorganal glutamine flow in metabolic acidosis

Metabolic acidosis redirects interorgan glutamine flow from hepatic utilization to renal ammoniagenesis at the expense of ureagenesis. The roles of arterial glutamine load and organ glutaminase capacity in the regulation of glutamine balance across the gut, liver, and kidneys were studied in control and chronically acidotic rats. In control rats these organs combined to remove 733 nmol glutamine X min-1 X 100 g-1 in agreement with their respective glutaminase content, gut greater than liver greater than kidneys. In chronic metabolic acidosis renal glutamine extraction alone increased to 1,158 nmol X min-1 X 100 g-1 associated with an increased glutaminase capacity. However, the total glutamine deficit across these organs rose to only 1,043 nmol glutamine consumed X min-1 X 100 g-1 as a consequence of hepatic glutamine uptake reversing to net release. This reversal was not dependent on increased hepatic glutamine synthetase capacity, but rather appears to be dependent on the combined effect of reduced portal venous glutamine load and increased ammonia load. The reduction in portal glutamine load is, in turn, a consequence of renal glutamine extraction and reduced arterial glutamine concentration in metabolic acidosis as well as maintained gut glutamine extraction. Elevating arterial glutamine concentration in metabolic acidosis has no effect on renal uptake, but enhances splanchnic bed extraction with the restoration of ureagenesis. Thus the interorgan flow of glutamine and deposition of N into either urea or ammonia appears to be dependent on arterial glutamine concentration and hence glutamine availability in chronic metabolic acidosis in the rat.

Rat liver glutaminase. Regulation by reversible interaction with the mitochondrial membrane

Partially purified rat liver mitochondrial glutaminase shows a sigmoidal dependence on glutamine concentration, and an absolute requirement for inorganic phosphate as activator. Reconstitution with a mitochondrial membrane fraction changes the kinetic properties of the enzyme making the glutamine dependence more hyperbolic and reducing the concentration of phosphate required for half-maximum activation. Glutaminase activity in isolated mitochondria is known to be increased as a result of mitochondrial swelling. In mitochondria suspended in isotonic medium, the properties of glutaminase resemble of the isolated enzyme while in swollen mitochondria the kinetic properties revert to those exhibited by the enzyme in association with the mitochondrial membrane. It is postulated that mitochondrial glutaminase is regulated in situ by reversible association with the inner mitochondrial membrane which is mediated by mitochondrial swelling. This mechanism may explain the short-term hormonally induced activation of the enzyme observed in isolated hepatocytes.

Partial purification and properties of rat liver glutaminase

The mitochondrial enzyme phosphate-dependent glutaminase was partially purified from rat liver. The enzyme had Mr 290 000 as judged by chromatography on Sephacryl S-300. After sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of the preparation, glutaminase was tentatively identified with a peptide of Mr 73 500. The concentration-dependence on glutamine was highly sigmoidal, with half-maximum velocity at 22 mM-glutamine. Half-maximum activity was obtained with 5 mM-phosphate. The enzyme required ammonia as an obligatory activator, in agreement with previous reports on intact and sonicated mitochondria. These findings further differentiate liver glutaminase from the phosphate-dependent glutaminase present in kidney and several other tissues.

Allosteric properties of phosphate-activated glutaminase of human liver mitochondria

The kinetics of human liver phosphate-activated glutaminase were studied in mitochondria isolated from surgical biopsies. The pH profile and activation by phosphate closely resembled rat liver glutaminase and differed clearly from human or rat kidney mitochondrial glutaminases. The activity responses to glutamine or phosphate were allosteric, showing positive cooperativity, as in the rat liver enzyme. Exogenous 1 mM NH4Cl shifted the glutamine concentration at half-maximal velocity, [Gln]0.5, to lower values without changing Vmax or sigmoidicity. Hill plots showed a parallel shift to the left with NH4Cl and the apparent number of binding sites, nH, was 2-3. 25 mM KHCO3 gave the same effects as NH4Cl on [Gln]0.5, Vmax, sigmoidicity and nH. The combination of the two activators was less than additive. Glutamate did not inhibit. We postulate that liver glutaminase is allosteric in its kinetics because it plays a key role in urea synthesis by regulating provision of glutamate for synthesis of N-acetylglutamate, the obligatory co-factor of carbamoylphosphate synthetase.

Control of rat-liver glutaminase by ammonia and pH

Regulation by ammonia of phosphate-dependent glutaminase in isolated rat-liver mitochondria was studied at pH values near the cytosolic pH of 7.0. 1. Glutaminase activity, both in the absence and presence of bicarbonate, was completely dependent on the presence of ammonia. 2. Glutaminase activity, both in the absence and presence of bicarbonate, was strongly depressed by decreasing the pH of the incubation medium from 7.0 to 6.8 when the ammonia concentration was below 0.5 mM. 3. Bicarbonate stimulated glutaminase activity only in the presence of low concentrations of ammonia. 4. The data indicate that the reported inhibition of glutamine degradation in the perfused liver at low pH [e.g. Häussinger et al. (1980) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 361, 995-1001] is due to a decreased affinity of glutaminase for ammonia.

Hormonal stimulation of mitochondrial glutaminase. Effects of vasopressin, angiotensin II, adrenaline and glucagon

Adrenaline (through alpha 1-adrenoceptors), vasopressin and angiotensin II stimulate mitochondrial glutaminase activity. This stimulation probably contributes to the ureogenic effect of these hormones. The activity of the enzyme is sensitive to Ca2+ depletion. A role of Ca2+ in hormonal modulation of glutaminase activity is suggested.

Effects of acute metabolic acidosis on renal, gut, liver, and muscle metabolism of glutamine and ammonia in the dog

Previous studies have shown a rise in arterial glutamine in acute acidosis in the dog. In these experiments glutamine and ammonia metabolism was studied in anesthetized dogs during normal acid-base status and following acute hydrochloric acidosis to determine the mechanism for the rise in arterial glutamine in acidosis. Splanchnic, liver, renal, and hind-half extraction/production were measured by arteriovenous (A-V) sampling and simultaneous blood flow measurements using electromagnetic flow probes. In the normal dog, muscle produced glutamine, and the kidneys, gut, hepatosplanchnic bed, and liver extracted it. Whole blood arterial glutamine rose in acidosis. Renal and muscle glutamine and ammonia extraction/production were unchanged. Gut ammonia release and hepatic ammonia uptake increased by similar amounts in acidosis, but no change in gut glutamine uptake occurred. Hepatic and total hepatosplanchnic glutamine uptake was markedly reduced thereby contributing to the raised arterial glutamine. These results demonstrate that acute metabolic acidosis in the dog-influences marked changes in glutamine extraction and ammonia metabolism across the hepatosplanchnic bed without significant changes in kidney or muscle metabolism.

Control of glutaminase activity in rat brain cortex in vitro: influence of glutamate, phosphate, ammonium, calcium and hydrogen ions

Studies of the kinetics of product inhibitions of glutaminase activity of rat brain cortical homogenates incubated in Krebs-Ringer medium in presence of the activating anion phosphate show that whereas ammonium acts competitively with respect to L-glutamine, L-glutamate acts non-competitively. Calcium ions are stimulatory with maximum stimulation occurring at 1 mM. This effect is blocked by EGTA. The optimum pH for glutamine hydrolysis is 8.2 with maximum stimulation by Ca2+ occurring at pH 7.8. Similar observations have been made with a crude synaptosomal fraction of brain cortex and also with brain cortex slices where the rates of hydrolyses are about one order of magnitude lower than those with brain homogenates. Ammonium (2 mM) diminishes glutamate and aspartate, and enhances glutamine and ammonium levels of brain cortex slices incubated in a physiological glucose-saline medium. It is suggested that stimulation by Ca2+ ions may occur in part by enhanced phosphate, and by diminished glutamate and H+ ion concentrations of mitochondria and that mutual regulation of glutaminase and glutamine synthetase may exist in glia but not in nerve terminals. It is proposed that calcium plays a role in maintaining normal electrical activities of certain neurons in part by its effects on glutamate regeneration in nerve terminals from glial-derived glutamine and that when brain cell ammonium is maintained at levels above the normal, suppressions of glutaminase activity in nerve terminals could affect the rate of formation of glutamine-derived neurotransmitters.

The stimulation of glutamine hydrolysis in isolated rat liver mitochondria by Mg2+ depletion and hypo-osmotic incubation conditions

1. In respiring rat liver mitochondria EDTA stimulates glutaminase activity measured in the presence of phosphate and HCO3- ions. The stimulation can be reversed by the addition of low concentrations of MgCl2. EGTA does not stimulate glutamine hydrolysis. 2. Glutaminase activity assayed in disrupted mitochondria is not significantly affected by EDTA or MgCl2. 3. The addition of EDTA results in a decrease in the concentration of phosphate required for half-maximal glutaminase activity. 4. Depletion of mitochondrial Mg2+ by the addition of the ionophore A23187 also stimulates glutamine hydrolysis in both the presence and the absence of EDTA. The effect of the ionophore can be abolished by the addition of MgCl2. 5. Hypo-osmotic incubation conditions increase the rate of mitochondrial glutamine hydrolysis. The effect of hypo-osmoticity on glutaminase is much less when EDTA is present. 6. It is suggested that glutaminase is partially and indirectly inhibited by endogenous mitochondrial Mg2+ and that the inner membrane may play a role in the regulation of glutaminase activity.

Increased activity of phosphate-dependent glutaminase in liver mitochondria as a result of glucagon treatment of rats

1. Injection of rats with glucagon leads to an increased effective activity of glutaminase in subsequently isolated liver mitochondria. 2. This effect of glucagon is manifested as a decreased requirement of glutaminase for phosphate in the presence of HCO3-. The HCO3--concentration-dependence is unchanged. 3. The effect of glucagon is lost on disruption of the mitochondria. 4. In accordance with previous reports, incubation of mitochondria in hypo-osmotic media also increases the effective activity of glutaminase. Glucagon increases glutamine hydrolysis at intermediate osmolarities of the suspending medium, but does not affect glutaminase activity when it is already maximally activated by hypo-osmotic conditions. 5. From this and previous work, it seems that hypo-osmotic incubation conditions, EDTA and glucagon may all activate glutaminase by a common mechanism. It is postulated that this mechanism involves modification of the interaction of glutaminase with the mitochondrial inner membrane.

Localization and some properties of phosphate-dependent glutaminase in disrupted liver mitochondria

1. Glutaminase activity in frozen and thawed liver mitochondria was activated by NH4+, phosphate and HCO3-ions and also by ATP . 2. NH4+ and HCO3-ions decreased the requirement of the enzyme for phosphate. The activation by ATP was observed only in the presence of NH4+ or HCO3-ions. 3. In frozen-and-thawed mitochondria, the enzyme was loosely bound to the inner membrane, the Arrhenius plot showing a break at 23 degrees C. On sonication, glutaminase was detached from the membrane and the Arrhenius plot became linear. 4. The apparent Km for glutamine of the membrane-bound form was 6 mM, and that of the soluble form was 21 mM. 5. It is likely that the properties of glutaminase in the intact cell are dependent on the association of this enzyme with the mitochondrial membrane.

A role for bicarbonate in the regulation of mammalian glutamine metabolism

1. The concentration of HCO3- (independent of any change of pH) exerts different effects on glutamine metabolism in rat kidney-cortex tubules, hepatocytes and enterocytes.2. In kidney tubules HCO3- (10.5-50 MM) has no effect on glutaminase (EC 3.5.1.2), whereas glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.3) is inhibited as HCO3- concentration is increased. The result is that flux through the entire glutamate-to-glucose pathway is inhibited by increasing HCO3- concentrations. A large proportion (more than 30%) of the glutamine removed undergoes complete oxidation. 3. In hepatocytes, and to a smaller extent in enterocytes, HCO3- is an accelerator of glutaminase. Synthesis of glucose and urea from glutamine in hepatocytes increases as HCO3- concentration is increased. Calculations show that fumarate, formed via aspartate aminotransferase and arginino-succinate lyase, is the precursor of the glucose. There is no complete oxidation of the carbon skeleton of glutamine in hepatocytes. 4. Leucine at near-physiological concentrations (0.1-1 mM) is an accelerator of glutaminase in hepatocytes, but not in kidney tubules or in enterocytes. 5. The results are discussed in relation to regulation of acid/base balance in vivo.